Tommy Boy Presents: Hip Hop Essentials 1979-1991 Volumes 1-8 (2005)

Tommy Boy Presents: Hip Hop Essentials 1979-1991 Volumes 1-8 chronicles hip-hop's rise from New York-based folk art to global force, a rap-for-dummies compilation that does all the crate digging and curating for you. No one really needs an entire UTFO album, but try living without their battle-of-the-sexes classic ''Roxanne Roxanne.'' All micro trends are accounted for here: smooth operators (LL Cool J), hippies (De La Soul), gangstas (N.W.A), virtuosos (Rakim), radicals (Public Enemy), and the jokers (Biz Markie). A must-have for aging B-boys and 50 Cent-quoting teens.